The Emptied Coffin By: Dan Shook

The Emptied Coffin"In the coldest reaches of the furthest depths lie the deadly memories of the foes Man is fated to struggle against in the dark years to come. There will be hunger unending. There will be thirst unquenchable. Then there will be Man betwixt the two. Our only hope, Faith. Our only shield, Hate. Our only chance? To act before the hour is too late and our foes arrive." -The last words of Deathwatch Epistolary Hyperion upon the most recent opening of the Omega Vault

Oftentimes in the throes of war it is the small details, and the seemingly insignificant vic-tories or defeats that determine the outcome of a struggle; who lives, who dies, and what the victor walks away with. Sometimes, on the other hand, unforeseen events arise that change the entire landscape of a conflict; sometimes, armies have to prepare for some-thing they had no idea was coming, if they wish to survive. The Jericho Reach is full of dead civilizations, ancient and malevolent secrets no mind has grasped in millennia, and the disembodied souls of the dead and damned who wander the darkness in between the stars. Any and all of these things must be accounted and prepared for if Man is to hold the Warp Gate and recapture the Reach to claim as their own. It is for this reason that Psykers and Librarians are of immeasurable value, reading the Emperor's Tarot and giving the forces of the Crusade crucial time to muster counter-measures to deal with what could otherwise prove devastating. The psychic members of Imperial occupation forces have suffered higher than usual casualties in the campaign for the Reach, especially in recent months. They have alternatively fallen prey to enemy witches, inscrutable xenos, and, most recently, some strange phenomena arising either from the broken fabric of space itself or, as some suspect, from its oldest inhabitants, long dead but still making their presence felt.

OverviewThe Omega Vault in Watch Station Erioch is both a grave mystery and the only answer to many questions of deadly import in the Jericho Reach. The items and prophecies it con-tains are vital to the success of the Achilus Crusade and possibly the survival of Mankind as a whole, though the rhyme or reason of how to get the Vault to open is lost to the liv-ing. However, it has been known to open for its own unknowable reasons. This is one of those times. The Omega Vault has recently opened one of its last remaining sealed chambers, revealing, among other things, a line of Relic Shields, one for each member of the PCs’ Kill-team and bearing the Chapter and Specialty makings of each of them (even if a member's Chapter did not exist when Erioch was commissioned, or if a member is a Black Shield, a flat black painted Shield bearing barely visible but unintelligible mark-

ings is present), as well as a Shield painted the silver of the left arm of all Deathwatch Marines and bearing the symbol of the Iron Halo of a Watch Captain and the visage of a snarling wolf with one eye. Soon after, a convocation of Watch Captains is called, and they order a Kill-team to be assembled and handed over to Watch Captain Fynn Storm-born (the most likely recipient of the last Relic Shield) for the duration of the mission (or their entire watch if this is their first mission). The Emptied Coffin occurs primarily on the far away and mysterious world of Jove's Decent, the events that occur are centered around a series of occurrences, starting with a chamber of the enigmatic Omega Vault opening and drawing the Kill-team to the wasted ruins of the Ghanathaar to uncover the forces that originally wiped the race of xe-nos out, and to stop a similar fate from befalling the Imperial forces of the Achilus Cru-sade. The mission is complicated by a series of mishaps that initially seem coincidental but later betray the inhuman intellect that is the driving force behind the possibility of a burgeoning apocalypse.

Watch Captain Fynn Storm-born

"By the Allfather, I have not seen such a mighty beast since the Great Hunt took me to the far side of the Segementum Tempestus near the Veiled Region. It was on some forsaken planet, whose name I forget, that, while fending off an Ork ambush, my squad and I felled the largest Squiggoth I, or any present, had ever seen."

-Watch Captain Fynn Stormborn

Watch Captain Fynn is at the same time one of the most respected, and most notorious, members of the Deathwatch of the Jericho Reach. Though he is a decorated veteran and the linchpin of several victorious engagements, he is often taciturn, sullen, and unpredict-able, prone to going from friendly to furious with little provocation, only to become per-sonable again just as quickly and for just as little reason. However, even though his mer-curial nature strikes Battle Brothers from more conservative Chapters to be the expres-sion of all that is wrong with the Space Wolves, he is nonetheless ruthlessly effective on the field of battle. Watch Captain Fynn Stormborn stands tall even for a Space Marine. His form is lean and long like a swift predator. His hair is shoulder length and grey, with two long braids that hang by where his left eye once was, a bionic replacement sits now instead; each braid stands for one full century he has served his Chapter and the Imperium. His tanned and leathery flesh is covered in scars. Several are old battle reminders, but many others are runes purposely branded or cut into his flesh as markings of honor or remem-brance, as was the way of his old tribe. Fynn wears his beard short and tightly braided,

and his long wolf-like fangs are clearly visible. Fynn's appearance is controlled and thoughtful, yet full of promises of the fury he can unleash, designed to never get in his way during battle and to cause those who are weak of spirit to stay silent around him and not waste his time. Fynn's right leg, like his eye, has been lost in battle and replaced by a mechanical replica, carved with the same runes that cover his body and war gear. "Watch Captain" is a title that most of the Battle Brothers from Fynn's home chap-ter would be astonished to hear before his name, considering how rare it is for a Space Wolf to willingly spend such a long time away from the Brothers of his own Chapter. Fynn, though a grizzled veteran of some two hundred and fifty years of service as one of the Emperor's Angels of Death, has never aspired to a role of leadership. Despite being made a Sergeant of a Wolf Scout pack in his home chapter, Fynn has always placed the lives of his men over personal glory or political ambition, unlike most higher ranking As-tartes. Fynn is alternatively viewed by the Kill-teams he commands as both entirely harsh and demanding, but sometimes very open and kind, though he has always been known and indeed was named Stormborn after his furious temper and affinity for adverse weather. Though Fynn has no need to be anything but a commander to his Marines he still views them all as his Battle Brothers, most not as tested as he perhaps, but each of them has the possibility of becoming, as he has, a veteran and a Captain. That is not to say Fynn coddles his men; he pushes them harder than most other Captains, stressing purity of mind, soul, and action as much or more than most Chaplains, never letting any amount of inequity or failure go unpunished. He pushes them because he has seen what only a single moment of weakness or failure can cost a Marine, their Chapter, or even Mankind as a whole. The child who would become Battle Brother Fynn and then eventually Brother Captain Fynn began his life inauspiciously, born during the short and cataclysmic chang-ing of seasons during a storm he would later find out to be one of the worst ever recorded on Fenris as far back as the Space Wolves' records go. He was one of the few children to survive the following warm season, and when the planet returned to its regular treacher-ously frigid climate Fynn was not only one of the few children left but almost the last of his tribe, the Runescarred, a fervent tribe of capable warriors and hunters who lived and raided on one of the few mostly permanent landmasses on the face of Fenris. It was dur-ing a raid on one of the tribes of herders who shared the mountainous steppes with his tribe that Fynn distinguished himself to a Wolf Priest who selected him to become a member of the chapter. During the raid the Runescarred overwhelmed the numerically superior herdsmen and were beginning to gather their numbers for a final push when a large drake took no-tice of what seemed to be an easy meal and attacked. The herdsmen cut their losses and ran, the Runscarred, being a group never willing to back down from a fight, took on the beast, with young Fynn leading the charge, being nearly crippled, fighting on, and despite a collapsed lung and broken ribs he scored the killing blow on the beast before losing consciousness. Upon awakening Fynn was already in route to Asaheim to be tested fur-ther, and to finally join the ranks of the Adeptus Astartes.

After grueling tests, implanted organs, and indoctrination Fynn was accepted fully into the Chapter. Fynn made few friends or enemies along his way, save for one: Aldric. The two were nearly inseparable, not because of any great warmth between the two but an odd understanding of one another. They were complete opposites in the execution of an action, but always agreed on which action to take, when Fynn went high, without a word Aldric would go low, they worked together as if a well oiled machine. When they were selected by a Great Company they were both drawn into the Sven Bloodhowl's Company, as they advanced Fynn followed the path of Wolf Scout and Aldric became a Grey Hunter. They were fielded together on many missions, often saving each other and other Space Wolves' lives so much so that the pair of them gained a reputation for surviv-ing and completing even the most dangerous of missions. On a far flung arm of the galaxy Fynn and Aldric were engaged in the Great Hunt, seeking out signs of Russ, when they were assaulted by Chaos renegades and pinned down by heavy weapon fire. Little did the pair know as they broke loose and began to stalk their assailants so too were they being stalked by foul beasts of the Warp summoned up by the cultists. As they finished off the last of the Chaos worshipers they were as-saulted by these beasts from beyond, one of the daemons was stopped by the icons of de-votion Fynn has branded into his very flesh and his iron clad devotion to the Emperor of Mankind, though Aldric was less fortunate and faltered, his mind and soul being sub-sumed by the creature. His flesh now a traitorous puppet for the occupying fiend, he at-tacked his former ally severing Fynn's right leg with a blasphemously powerful sweep of his chainaxe. Fynn no stranger to being wounded, let loose with his sniper bolter heavily wounding his old friend and driving the daemon now wearing his flesh away. That was the last time Fynn saw Aldric. After Fynn had fully recovered, now with a bionic leg, he joined the Deathwatch for a chance to travel the galaxy and perhaps hunt down his old friend and give him the Emperor's absolution. In his travels he has put his consummate skills as a sniper, with his signature Stalker Pattern Bolter Blood Oath, and forward scout to use as well as found ample opportunity show off his prodigious close quarters fighting abilities with his Frostaxe Todeskälte. Fynn has, in his time with the Deathwatch, felled Ork warbosses (one of which took his left eye), Tyranid hive tyrants, hated Eldar exarchs, and was once party to the capture of a Tau ethereal. Fynn ,though, like many Space Wolves, keeps the coldest, darkest, and most hate filled pit of his heart reserved for Traitor Marines, which he has encountered many of but few have lived to curse his name. Fynn, for his part, has focused on the mission of the Deathwatch, slaying xenos and keeping the creeping dooms of the galaxy from being fulfilled. During his stint in the Deathwatch Fynn has begun to be known by his Brothers much as he was known in his home Chapter, as a standoffish warrior who will complete any assignment given to him, and he makes the Kill-teams who serve under him becomes just as rugged and driven.

Creaking of Ancient HingesThe driving theme in this adventure is the influence the past, and those beings who in-habit it, have on ongoing events in the galaxy at large; lives, deaths, cycles of extinction, and rebirth.

The Call of the Restless DeadThe event that starts it all is the opening of a chamber in the Omega Vault, it happens with little ceremony and fewer witnesses, though it does send out a psychic beacon that grounds out in and kills the closest Librarian; one Epistolary Hyperion of the Blood Ra-vens, whose last words are as cryptic a warning as the items later found within the cham-ber itself. What is held within the chamber is a psychic crystal, an ancient data-slate, and a number of Relic Shields, made to be attached to the left pauldrons of the Space Marines and provide them ancient blessings and remind them of their purpose (numbering the same as the Kill-team and sharing the same Chapter and Specialty, or personal for non-Codex compliant Chapters, markings). On the crystal is the imprint of the last memory of the last member present of a race of alien xenos, the Ghanathaar, right before being wiped off of the planet of Jove's Decent. Any Psyker who tries to use any power from the Divination or Telepathy disci-plines on the crystal must succeed at a Arduous (-40) Willpower Test, which is consid-ered a Focus Power test. Failure results in being overwhelmed by the unfamiliar and forcefully emotional thought imprinted within the crystal, if they should fail they are stunned for 1d10 turns and fall prone, as their mind is filled with powerful and contradic-tory sensations trying to act themselves out with the Psykers body. If they succeed they will be treated to murky vision seen through inhuman perceptions of the events surround-ing the fall of the Ghanathaar. Should a member of the Kill-team pass the test read or paraphrase the following:

Though the images are strange and unnerving, experienced by some creature with sen-sory input much different than a humans the vision is clear enough to get its point across. In your mind's eye you see thin black figures, soulless and cold, firing bright lances of energy and advancing, ever advancing, even in the face of their own destruction until all light is extinguished. Then for a long moment there is only the long breathless silence of the grave before you snap back to your senses, with a sense of dread and dire urgency.

The data-slate contains an millennia old prophecy, mixed in with old Deathwatch intelligence on Jove's Decent. If any of the players can convince their Captain that they require the information on the data-slate read or paraphrase the following:

Most of the information on the data-slate seems of little import, logistical data, and Imperial tithing information on the planet referred to as Beckman's Folly, along with accounts of Jove Beckman; a former Rogue Trader who originally found and charted the system, who was driven insane by his obsession with ruins that lie upon the planet, and was eventually lost in its jungles never to be found. Along with this is the prophesy: "Those who have worshiped at the feat of the Star Eaters have become the New Death feasting upon all life, but now they have fallen still. Upon the opening of the Emptied Coffin and the freedom of their last victim shall they wake and their feast begin anew. Only the bearers of the of the Fated Shields can force the restless dead to divulge their secrets and be still again."

Optional Encounter:Fighting for Position The Chamber of Vigilance is called to meeting to decide who will go on the mis-sion and all prospective Battle-brothers are given a rare summons to be present and pos-sibly to be involved in discourse with their betters. If the Kill-team is an established presence at Erioch and have rivals within the Watch Station then their detractors will find any reason to look for another Kill-team to take up the mission. Alternatively if this is the Kill-team's first mission for the Death-watch then Epistolary Axineton of the White Consuls objects to their being sent on the mission in lieu of more experienced group made up Battle-Brothers taken from separate Kill-teams. Depending on the group's social dynamics and preferred play style this could be as drawn out or succinct a matter as the GM wishes it to be. Fynn wishes to go with the players' Kill-team due to their composition matching up with the shields' without hav-ing to be meddled with, he says its a sign. In the end Capitan Fynn's opinion carries a lot of weight in spite of his less than stellar reputation, though the Kill-team will still have to find either logical reasons or out-side support to fully tip the scales in their favor.

Arming, Objectives, and Oath-TakingThe Primary Objectives are clear from the start, Fynn should go over these heavily with the Kill-team before they embark. Some objectives are revealed during the mission and will be pointed out at the end of the adventure. All Battle Brothers who go on this Mission are issued the Relic Shield that corresponds with their home Chapter and Specialty to be worn for the entirety of the Mission.Mission Complication: Low Resources Note that aside from special ammunition bought with Requisitions the Kill Team has 3 clips of standard ammunition for each weapon they have and the standard 3 Krak and 3 Frag grenades.

Requisition: 60 (rounded down from 61, normally this would be rounded up but some equiment is lost in the Drop Pod crash)Primary Objective: Figure out what will trigger the Awakening (Skilled Objective: 30 Requisition)Primary Objective: Stop any threat to human interests from the Ghanathaar (Veteran Objective:25 Requisition)Tertiary Objective: Retrieve any solid info about the Ghanathaar. (Novice Objective: 6 Requisition)

Persons of InterestSince the mission occurs mostly in secret the majority of the people the Kill-team will encounter either be obstacles or already dead. Here are the actual people they will en-counter outside of Watch Station Erioch:

Dwem Surantes

Surantes is a mid level cold trader and smuggler of xenos artifacts to any client, be they human or xenos, loyal or heretic. He is bold and entitled while not being overly intellec-tual or wise. Surantes will not let anything stand between himself and his payday fighting to the death if need be. Surantes comes as a fixer from the mid levels of of one of the numberless Hive worlds of the Imperium, he is neither particularly cultured or professional but he makes up for any lacking in those areas with luck and ambition. Surantes leads the Recidivist Smugglers above the Bone Sepulcher where all the trouble stems from, and he is a crimi-nal through and through, one that knows what the intervention of Imperial servants can bring.

Ivan Kradvio

Ivan is one of the lieutenants of Surantes criminal enterprise, also he is a high ranking undercover agent of a dangerous Ordo Malleus Inquisitor who uncovered the source of several strange artifacts and suspected the involvement of a cult or the daemons of Chaos. Ivan's real name is Jerichus "Crisis" Wolfe, he has reddened skin and grey hair, he is of a slight but quick build, and always has at least two loaded Solid Projectile firearms on himself at any time. He is a gunslinger of famed Gunmetal City on Scintilla though his work for a mysterious Inquisitor has brought him to the other side of the galaxy. A consummate criminal in his own right before he was drafted by the Holy Ordos he made the perfect choice to monitor smuggling operations on this most dangerous and ancient xenos burial planet.

The Gestalt

The psychic collection of all the dead Ghanathaar on Jove's Decent has no love for hu-man race, the pests that finished of what The New Death started, but their outrage against the waking of their true destroyers is far stronger than that for the scavengers that ended them. Their rage is great, almost as great is their confusion, coming back from the dead as a racial conglomerate psychic being changes perceptions and with each mind trying to remember themselves as who they were it becomes difficult to interface with reality. The Gestalt is unable to communicate through any vocal means, and it will attack the Kill-team on fist sighting them. Though once it suffers enough damage to focus its minds to the present it will attempt to mentally link with them and impart its knowledge of an impending threat to the galaxy as a whole.

The Moribund World"....And I stood upon a world of corpses, its entirety was their tomb, its jungles were their graves' adornment, and even though teeming with life its true masters were the dead."

- an excerpt from the journal of Jove Beckman

The trip to Jove's Decent takes a little over a month, made more difficult by several run-ning battles with Tyranid bio-ships. Brother Pellas is, and has been, on edge for the entire trip because of the dangers of the area of space that he and the Thunder's Word have to take the Battle-brothers for their mission. As the players arrive they are in the midst of a running skirmish with Tyranid vessels. Read or paraphrase the following:

Warning klaxons blare as the Thunder's Word narrowly avoids another salvo of bio-plasma, rounding the edge of the last intervening planet Jove's Decent finally comes into view, along with several vessels of nominal human make.

Brother Pellas and everyone else on the bridge is surprised to see such a large gathering of space fairing vessels. Brother Pellas calls the Kill-team to the bridge if they are not present and he explains:

" I have no idea if these vessels are loyal to the Imperium or if they are renegades. You will be sent to the planet's surface via high altitude Drop Pod insertion. We will then re-treat to relative safety, you will have to find a way to contact us or find a way to make it off the planet yourselves. Gather your gear the Drop Pod will be en route in 5 minutes. May the Emperor's light shine over you."

Inauspicious Beginnings

Soon afterwards the players with all their equipment in hand are plummeting to-ward the planet's surface at faster than terminal velocity. Once they are on their way the Battle Brothers get a vox from Captain Fynn, he seems less than happy and has this to say:

"Blasted beasts and traitorous swine to boot! I see that you are headed planetside, I will be en route soon, but I will not be able to land near your projected coordinates. When you land look for anything that might be a clue as to this disaster. Do not stray more than a few kilometers from the Drop Pod. I will find you and we will proceed from there. Fynn out." The insertion was too hot though and not all the proper trajectory data was loaded, as the Thunder's Word shook free of the bio-ships but found itself engaged with traitorous cold trader and smuggler vessels. Warning alarms light up letting all present on the drop pod know that if something is not soon done their landing will be much less than pleas-ant. A Challenging (+0) Tech-use Test or a Difficult (-10) Intelligence Test can fix the landing data, or a Hard (-30) Strength Test can manually deploy the retrorockets, but only one test may be attempted per round and every round that goes by in which the test was failed add 5 points of damage to the total, which is 1d10 and ignores armor. The Kill-team has 4 turns before they make landfall and the damage will be rolled. Even with the best results the Kill-team still suffers 1d10 damage as the landing was harsh even by Drop Pod standards, as the pod embeds itself almost a full meter into the side of a large basalt mountain. It takes the Kill-team a few minutes to pry and climb their way out of the battered drop pod and as they gather their wits and look around they notice they are in the middle of a jungle, and as sunlight is fading they can see several kilometers to the south that there is in fact a city with power on the other side of the jun-gle. Any cursory examination of the Drop Pod or their equipment finds that their ammo reserves were crushed during impact, they only have the ammunition that they are carry-ing on their person. Looking around in any other directions they see only jungle or the ancient grim monoliths that bring opportunistic scum to this planet. As the Kill-team makes its way through the morass of the deep jungle, they can hear the noises of the native wildlife, much of it seems to be innocuous, but some large and predatory noises can be heard in the distance. After a few minutes ambient noises seem to cease and a telling silence takes its place. The battle brothers may make a Diffi-cult (-10) Perception Test to hear the sound of incoming propulsion, though its unearthly warble is reminiscent of the Space Marines' own Land Speeders it is most definitely not originally of human manufacture. The vehicle in question is a Hovercraft of xenos manufacture with human modifi-cations, it is crewed by 4 Recidivists, a gunner, and a pilot. How the Battle Brothers deal with the situation is up to their own inclinations, they may hide and ambush the craft as it goes by, present themselves in the middle of a clearing, or they can hide and just let it pass them by, though if they choose not to engage give them the Perception test again in a few minutes as the craft returns using a similar path as it arrived upon. If they choose to

engage them, the human passengers are obviously frightened of the Astartes but more than willing to give fight to the "Imperial Dogs", and if they try to speak to them the pilot of the rig attempts to get the jump on them necessitating a Challenging (+0) Scrunity Test as he acts friendly and cooperative before having his gunner open fire Surprising the Kill-team. Either way as long as the fight happens the Battle Brothers may check over their bodies after its over, finding on them badges of employ to one Dwem Surantes, a known cold trader and reprobate. In the aftermath of the encounter an Ordinary (+10) Survival Test may alert the Kill-team to the fact the dead bodies and the smell of blood is likely drawing the attention of local predators and scavengers, if the test is failed the GM may wish to point out that the sounds of local animals are audible again, but seem louder than before. If the GM wishes or if the Kill-team hangs around the site for too long they may encounter a local Chulthid, an almost Tyranid-like fearsome local scavenger. A message comes in from Watch Capitan Fynn not long after the encounter with the Hovercraft, he says:

In labored breath a message comes in over your vox "This is Captain Fynn. My Drop Pod crashed into local plant-life during descent. I am injured, cracked rib plate and possibly a broken arm, a hindrance and nothing more, Brothers. I have found your signal, I will move toward the city you are near and reconnoi-ter it, it seems for the moment I will be on support duty. Find out what the locals know. Report back to me with any information you gather at the soonest opportunity. Fynn out."

Bleakport As they make their way closer to the city the Kill-team is likely to notice signs of Tyranid invasion, dead termagaunts and a slight spore-fog become slightly more obvious the closer to the city they get. When the jungle begins to thin and the city is in sight the Kill-team finds it in the midst of a battle. Several Tyranid Warriors and a few swarms of Gargoyles (Termagaunts with the Flyer 10 trait) are assaulting the settlement as the Kill-team arrives on site. If the Kill-team engages the Tyranids they face two Magnitude 30 Hordes of Gargoyles and 2 Tyranid Warriors while the rest are busy fighting the human inhabitants. Should the Kill-team succeed in killing the xenos horrors the motley bunch of traitors and smugglers of the trading hub of Bleakport will talk with them. Though not overly friendly or trusting of the Emperor's servants they will give them what information they can without damning themselves to the Emperor's Mercy. One amongst them seems the least afraid and after looking around at the cowed crowd he decides to step up as spokesman. Read or paraphrase the following:

From among the ragged crowd of rabble left after the battle most of the faces seem pen-sive and grim, afraid of your presence and what you are a symbol of: Imperial authority.

One man from the gathering sees no one else has the stomach for speech so he roughly pushed his way toward you all. He is slightly short for a human male ,thin and wiry, roughly calloused, scared, and obviously battle tested. He is dressed in patchwork armor and carries a worn and battered Hellgun, though sharp eyed Space Marines will notice two Hand Cannons hidden under his clothes. Appraising the Kill-team he speaks up and his voice is as gruff as his appearance: "So da Emperor's Angels o' Death pull some sorry sods like us outa da fire, why is you 'ere and what do ya wan' Astartes?"

During the course of the conversation he will inform the Battle Brothers that his name is Ivan Kradvio, he says he is simply "a hired work-jack" and refuses to say any-thing more about it. He will answer any questions he is asked as well as he can without giving anything away as to the nature of the port or the activities that go on there. If asked who is in charge though he will answer that Mister Surantes is the power behind Bleakport and that very little human or xenos activities go on on Jove's Decent without his knowing of it, he points out which building, of the few that have survived the attacks of the Tyranids, that Surantes is most likely currently in. Point out to the players that at this point the crowd seems less than happy about Ivan's cooperation with them, and it seems likely that if they do not intervene that he is may be killed when they leave. If the Battle Brothers try to reason with the crowd it fails devolving into fight with the Recidi-vists as a Horde with magnitude of 25, with Ivan helping the group who seems least likely to kill him at the time (so the Kill-team). If the Battle Brothers pass a Hard (-30) Intimidate Test they can back the crowd down and ensure their silence and compliance, the GM is encouraged to give the players bonuses to this test for good threats or displays of force. Having the crowd dealt with and with or without Ivan in tow the Battle Brothers should move towards the city, finding a wreck indicative of the Tyranid's encroachment on the planet. The building is made in a mockery of an Imperial Administratum office, it looks to be the most likely place to find whoever is in charge of Bleakport. When the Battle Brothers walk into the building read or paraphrase the following:

The prefabricated ferrocrete building is obviously of bastardized Imperial design. The old building shows new signs of xenos attack, slash marks and acid burns, but still seems to stand intact weathering the beating it has taken like its pragmatic construction was made to. On the inside the main room is covered with crates, some open showing bone-like blackened objects, at a desk sits a man, one of seemingly high station. Looking up at you as you enter he smiles wryly and says with an air of arrogance and authority " Yes I am Surantes, I am sure you are here to talk to me, please mind your manners while in my of-fice, and I will see if there is anything I can do for you." He then picks up a data-slate and begins shifting through reports and information.

How the Battle Brothers deal with Surantes determines the ease and effectiveness of the rest of their mission. If they are respectful and helpful then things go smoothly and

they find their way to their goal with help and then hopefully leave, if they take offense to his crimes against the Emperor, his manner of addressing them, or they try to intimidate him then they find themselves harassed by Recidivists at often inconvenient times, get little if any help from Surantes himself, but they have a better change at finding out about and stopping his next shipment of xenos artifacts to enemies of the Imperium, and shut-ting down this particular operation down for good. If the Battle Brothers try to shake Surantes down, or openly ignore his "authority" at any point he will have what's left of his men in the city attack them during one of the other later encounters they have, meaning during another fight on the second round two Magnitude 20 Hordes of Recidivists will also attack the Kill-team (only one Horde if the battle Brothers managed to cow the group on the outskirts of the city to save Ivan) and he will not give them any useful information as to the whereabouts of the Winding Cata-combs under the city where he was found most of the xenos items he smuggles. The GM may at some point feel free to give one or all of the Battle Brothers a Hard (-30) Aware-ness Test to spot a scout or two of the Hordes following the Space Marines looking for an opportune moment to attack. This group is armed with dangerous xenos artifacts and still obviously wear the brands of Surantes' employ. On one of the bodies of the Recidivists, if they attack, is a data-slate with information about "ships of cargo procured from the Catacombs", a detailed map of the catacomb and an entrance to them in the middle of the city, hauler routes, and manifest numbers of lighters in the Spaceport. It seems a very large shipment, making up the bulk of Surantes' finds on his current site, of xenos artifact is about to be shipped out within 48 hours. If the Battle Brothers cooperate with Surantes and his ego then he will tell them that there have been stranges rumbling beneath the Bleakport in what he calls the "Wind-ing Catacombs" a place he says is an empty series of caves with strange markings on the stone which becomes bone-like in color and texture if one goes down very far and that not many of his people venture into those empty trackless wastes as it seems to be a good way to lose oneself forever. He tells them of a way to get into the Catacombs not far out-side the city and he lets them go, hoping they will solve whatever crisis they came here for and either die or be weakened enough to be killed off in the process. Unless the Kill-team killed Ivan personally he survives and Fynn has this to re-port:

"I was just been contacted by an agent of the Ordo Malleus. he says he has noticed you presence in the city and the disruption to his work that it is causing. He is infiltrating the criminal organization that runs this port. If there is need for information or a small dis-traction contact me and I will relay the imessage to him." If asked why the agent only chooses to deal with Fynn he responds with a single word "Discretion" making it clear he implies the Kill-team does not posses any.

The Spaceport

There are a number of reasons for the Battle Brothers to end up at the Spaceport sooner or later. Chief among them being that they need a craft to get off planet if they wish to meet back up with the Thunder's Word. Other reasons could be out of pure mistrust for Surantes or if they find proof of his smuggling and cold trading. If the Kill-team approaches the Spaceport without having gains Surantes' approval Fynn voxes them saying:

"If you are looking for a tour of this place I have observed it for a while. I can kill the gunner in the Bolter-nest nearest you, you will not have much time to make it from cover to the inner perimeter but it is a better chance than you would have had otherwise." If the Kill-team goes with Fynn's idea the completely silent death of the gunner it buys them three rounds to cover 150 meters of open ground and get inside the fence be-fore they take fire from the Heavy Bolter emplacements. The Spaceport itself is a simple affair as far as Spaceports go, it has a few hang-ers, some storage, traffic control, a few freighters and lighters scattered about the tarmac, and large barracks of guards and heavy weapons crews. The Spaceport is the most heav-ily guarded place in the city and seems to be untouched by Tyranid invasion save for the walls of charred bio-forms piled up outside razor-wire topped fences. Twin linked mounted heavy bolter nests sit at each of the four corners of the small space port, able to maintain Overwatch over most of the surrounding area, and the hardened mercenaries that man them fire on anything that is not a hauler working for Surantes or one of his uni-formed workers. Inside the walls are two magnitude 30 Heavy Weapons Teams equipped with one Soul Sear Cannon apiece.

If a Librarian is present a Difficult (-10) Psyniscience Test detects the presence of the unsettled dead in the locked warehouses or in the freighters if they are still on the tarmac. If this is further investigated is originates from the xenos artifacts therein, which are mostly, very obviously, weapons. If there are any Recidivists left of the two Hordes they will attack anyone attempt-ing to storm the Spaceport. If the Battle Brothers wish to cooperate with Surantes and ask about the Spaceport he will allow them to go, but he will vox ahead of them and all of the contraband and the spacecraft that carry it will be moved into locked hangars, and the guards and Heavy Weapons Teams will still be present but will be out of sight, with only a few officers and maintenance crews being out and about. Should the Kill-team stick their noses where they are not wanted all combat ready personnel will respond immedi-ately. If the Kill-team shows up and gets inside the Spaceport after talking with Surantes they arrive at an empty looking area. Upon cursory examination it just seems like a small backwater Spaceport, but a Hard (-20) Awareness Test can alert a Space Marine to the fact that they are being watched by the officers and that they seem to be in constant communication with someone.

The Winding CatacombsOnce the Kill-team makes its way into the Catacombs they are immediately assaulted an unearthly wail and a tremor in the caves. Any Librarians present must make test against Fear (3) Horrifying (-20) as the feel and see the tortured visages of three million dead xenos souls momentarily. A Challenging (+0) Navigation (Surface) Test is required keep from getting lost for 1d5 hours whenever exploring the tunnels of the Catacombs. If the Kill-team enters in the tunnels on outside of Bleakport they find them de-serted and seemingly completely trackless, they look like none of the locals come down here. From here a tunnel leads back in the direction of town or one that leads down. If the Kill-team opts to go back toward town they find the entryway into the Catacombs from the town, if they go down where they will eventually find The Grotto of the Dead. If they enter the Catacombs via the entrance in the middle of Bleakport the Kill-team finds the tunnels looking heavily used, a Challenging (+0) Tracking Test notes that the tracks here were left by the haulers in Bleakport. A series of tunnels leads mostly back to the main entrance but one set, where the hauler tracks lead, goes away from the en-trance and heads down while another set of tunnels lead to the entrance outside of town. The tunnels that lead down will either terminate in dead end crypts, all of which seem to be open and free of their former occupants who left only dust in their passing, or lead to the Grotto of the Dead. With a Challenging (+0) Awareness Test a Battle Brother may get the impression from reliefs carved into the walls that the crypts once held xenos weapons and other artifacts buried with their dead. When the Kill-team make their way down to the Grotto read the following:

The tunnels become more bone-like the further down you travel, the walls becoming smoothed and porous. Eventually the seemingly endless tunnels open up into a huge spherical chamber. The Grotto of the Dead is massive, it walls and floor the grey color of unbleached bones, its narrow downward paths dangerous and slick. Beside the entrance you find Watch Captain Fynn his helmet off, bleeding from his left arm and with small amounts of blood running from his mouth and nose. He greets the Kill-team roughly, pain present in his eyes but smothered by conviction and resolve. At the bottom there is a macabre gathering of the animate husks of the dead Ghanathaar. Free from their graves but motionless again the ancient corpses seem not to notice you or move, at least not yet.

If a member of the Kill-team tries to use the Medicae on Fynn it is a standard use of first aid. If they succeed it seems his initial report was accurate: broken arm, cracked rib plate, and some internal trauma, treat Fynn as Heavily Wounded, he can be partially patched up but he will still be hampered by his injuries.

The Grotto of the Dead is a huge spherical underground expanse. The entrances from the tunnels come in on either side near the top of the opening with treacherous nar-row paths carved into the sides leading down some 200 meters to the marshy bottom, which is filled with the broken decayed forms of the Ghanathaar. If a Librarian is present he can make a Routine (+20) Psynescience Test to be able to detect a large focus of psy-chic build-up present and a thinning of the veil between the material world and the Warp. The restless dead stand mostly motionless aside from the occasional bit of dessicated flesh peeling off and falling into the stagnant water, bloating, then breaking apart. Their xenos forms were strange and alien when they were alive, millennia in the past, now they stand a dusty no-color, almost formless mass of nearly nonexistent flesh and structures more akin to tightly packed dust than bones. If the Battle Brothers decide to fire on the xenos abominations the bolts or other projectiles go right through them disintegrating what parts of their bodies are touched but seeming to have no effect on their ability to stand and drawing no attention of the risen dead. At the bottom of the Grotto where the Ghanathaar gather there is a giant black metal wall engraved with strange glowing green runes sealing the entrance to what seems to be a very large tunnel. The metal seems forcibly placed there and is not of Ghanathaar make. As the Kill-team make their way to the bottom it seems their proximity triggers the something in the congregation of the dead and as one they behind to walk into the metal wall each one of them being completely destroyed in the process, as more and more of the thousands of bodies pour into the wall it begins to ripple with warp energy then bend, buckle, and eventually be torn into pieces. The entire process ends with a huge gust of air pushing past the constraining wall with enough force that it will knock any Battle Brother within 30 meters of it prone. The process momentarily shunts the metal into the unpro-tected Warp and any living being present must make a Challenging (+0) Willpower Test or gain 1d10+5 Corruption Points, if they fail this test and are wearing the Relic Shield they may reroll, if the reroll fails then the Shield glows white hot and then crumbles to dust, the Battle Brother may Burn a Fate Point to save the Shield. After the wall is destroyed there is no trace of either it or the Ghanataar aside from a huge hole leading to what seems to be a huge and extravagant burial chamber.

The Bone SepulcherAs the Battle Brothers approach read or paraphrase the following:

The air wavers and distorts inside the chamber. You are reminded of the stasis fields in Watch Station Erioch where the most important or dangerous artifacts and "samples" are kept. Inside is a scene of carnage. From a quick glance it seems that some creature of importance was being prepared for burial when the chamber was attacked. Fresh scorch marks mar the walls of the decadently appointed chamber, purple xenos ichor is splat-tered across the walls and floor, the body of what looks like the monarch of the foul xenos looks as if it were cut down trying to crawl into its own coffin.

If any of the Battle Brothers try to touch or interact with the stasis field it dissipates im-mediately and the Relic Shields vibrate visibly, even on Marines not near it. The chamber beyond then becomes accessible as it is now back in sync with the flow of time. After a few moments the body of the xenos starts to twitch as blue warp-light starts to flow into it from the direction of the Grotto. Any Space Marine with their Relic Shield intact is immune to the Fear (4) Terrifying -30 test that must be rolled otherwise, as the soul stuffed body begins to glow blue and stand. The Gestalt takes a round to stand and if not attacked will immediately fly into a rage and strike out at anything living in the chamber fighting as if it for its own life even though it has been dead for centuries. After 100 or more wound have been inflicted on the Gestalt the pain seems to focus its mind and draw its attention enough to focus all of it-selves on one purpose, the prevention of a another galaxy wide extinction. It take a few moment of excruciating psychic probing before the being can interact with the Space Ma-rines in any meaningful way. Read or paraphrase the following:

The being seems to stare into all your eyes at once, its stare becoming like a psychic touch, then its touch seems to reach into your very soul. After several moments of pain and confusion an urgency comes over you all, almost a pleading. You see a world, quiet and dead, suddenly ethereal green lights flicker all over the surface of the planet. Pyra-mid shaped structures dig themselves up from underneath the ground and then fly off the planet and into darkness. You all get the impression of a fresh death, the sadness of mourning the recent loss of someone close, the mourning of everyone you may have ever known. You know this is what is about to come, you know where that planet is somehow, and you know you have to stop this fresh death from coming about. You feel the weariness of thousands of years of waiting in deathly sleep creep over the being. You see through your own eyes again, a sensation that takes a moment to ad-just to. The Gestalt crawls into the grave of the monarch, a coffin ever empty until now. Captain Fynn walks over and closes the lid. You feel the reality bending effects of the Warp for a moment, and then you know the coffin sits empty again. Captain Fynn turns to the rest of the Kill-team and intones his orders: to leave, to get off this All-Father forsaken rock, and to report the team's findings to the Deathwatch. As the Kill-team exits the Winding Catacombs they are greeted by Ivan wearing Inquisitorial regalia, seemingly having wiped out most of the remnants of the Recidivists, casually tossing a Frag grenade over his shoulder a group of wounded enemies with a cheerful smile upon his face.

"Well this ain't how I expected this day ta go, but thanks all da same Astartes. I been ach-ing for a go at these scum for months."

Ivan, or Crisis as he soon introduces himself, informs the Battle Brothers that an Inquisitorial Heavy Cruiser is on its way. After Fynn exchanges information with Crisis

he informs the Kill-team that Inquisitor will take them to the planet they were shown by the Gestalt. Read or paraphrase the following:

As the Saint of Wrath transitions back into the material world from the Warp everything goes smoothly, much more smoothly than usual. After a few hours of cruising at the edge of the Astronomincon's light a world sits before you, one that you have seen in your mind's eye. Barren and black, it stands seemingly completely lifeless. A Helmsman man-ning sensory arrays speaks up "No life signs, though there is a trace of some unknown energy signature, it is fading. Whatever was here, is here no longer."

The Old Death Becomes New AgainAs harbingers of bad news and a possible new threat to Humanity as a whole the Battle Brothers return to Watch Station Erioch, alive, successful, but without glory or joy, only the specter of grim duty for a cold comfort, as the Awakening was unstoppable, but its defeat of Humanity is not.

Rewards:Find out about the Awakening 350 xpStop the Ghanathaar Gestalt 400xpDireclty have a hand in stopping Surantes' cold trade 200xpGather intel via artifacts, data-slates, or questions to the Gestalt on the Ghanathaar/ per pertinent piece of information 3 max 75xp

Surviving the fight with the Gestalt is worth 3 RenownStopping/Killing Surantes and his operations is worth 2 RenownThe following are worth 1 Renown each:Siding with/helping Ivan Gathering at least two pieces of good information on the Ghanathaar

Future ImplicationsThe Nercons are a known treat to the Imperium to the players, though they will not be known to the galaxy at large for years to come, this adventure is a great setup to their first appearance if the GM or players wish to be in a position of readiness when the Nercons first arrive. It also sets up a chance for the GM to run more missions focusing in on find-ing out information about another galaxy wide threat on the same scale as the Tyranids.

Appendix: NPCsDwem Surantes (Elite)

Dwen Surantes ProfileDwen Surantes ProfileDwen Surantes ProfileDwen Surantes ProfileDwen Surantes ProfileDwen Surantes ProfileDwen Surantes ProfileDwen Surantes ProfileDwen Surantes Profile

WS BS S T Ag Int

Per

WP Fel

45 45 50 45 50 35 40 55 45

Movement: 5/10/15/20 Wounds: 25

Skills: Acrobatics (Ag), Awareness (Per), Carouse (T), Charm (Fel), Command (Fel), Concealment (Ag), Deceive +10 (Fel), Dodge +20, Intimidate (S), Lore: Common (Impe-

rium) (Int), Lore: Common (Underworld) +10 (Int), Security(Int), Shadowing (Ag), Si-lent Moves (Ag), Speak Language (Low Gothic), Tech Use (Int).Talents: Crack Shot, Deadeye Shot, Exotic Weapon Training (Ghanathaar Sear Gun) Me-lee Weapon Training (Primitive, Chain), Mighty Shot, Peer (Underworld), Pistol Training (Bolt Las, SP) Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Sharpshooter, Step Aside, Talented (Dodge), Touched by the Fates (1)Armor: Bone-metal Carapace (7 to Body, Arms, and Legs).Weapons: Ghanathaar Sear Gun (25m; S/2/-; 2d10+4E; Pen 8; Clip n/a, Rld n/a), Recidi-vist Bolt Pistols (30m; S/2/- 1d10+8 X; Pen 4; Clip 6; Rld Full, Tearing), Chainsword (1d10+ 7 R; Pen 2; Tearing, Balanced).Gear: Smugglers uniform, data-slates with Ghanathaar research, lists of clients, and freight manifests, superior attitude, mirco-bead, 4 clips for Bolt Pistols.

Recidivist (Troops)Recidivist ProfileRecidivist ProfileRecidivist ProfileRecidivist ProfileRecidivist ProfileRecidivist ProfileRecidivist ProfileRecidivist ProfileRecidivist Profile

WS BS S T Ag Int

Per

WP Fel

45 35 35 35 30 20 30 35 20

Movement: 3/6/9/18 Wounds: 10Skills: Awareness (Per), Climb (S), Speak Language (Low Gothic) (Int), Swim (S), Sur-vival (Int)Talents: Basic Weapon Training (Las, SP), Exotic Weapon Training (Soul Sear Cannon or Ghanathaar Sear Rifle) Melee Weapon Training (Primitive), Pistol Training (SP).Traits: Fire Drill, Horde.Armor: Flak Armor (All 4, Horde 4).Weapons: Combat Knife (1d5+6 R; Primitive), Lasgun (100m; S/3/-; 1d10+3 E; Pen 0; Clip 60; Rld Full; Reliable), Soul Sear Cannon (120m; S/-/-; 2d10+15; Pen 8; Clip n/a; Rld; Recharge), Ghanathaar Sear Gun (25m; S/2/-; 2d10+4E; Pen 8; Clip n/a, Rld n/a).Note: When equipped with a Sear weapon, only one person in the crowd has such rare and expensive weapon.

Ivan Kradvio (Elite)Ivan Kradvio ProfileIvan Kradvio ProfileIvan Kradvio ProfileIvan Kradvio ProfileIvan Kradvio ProfileIvan Kradvio ProfileIvan Kradvio ProfileIvan Kradvio ProfileIvan Kradvio Profile

WS BS S T Ag Int

Per

WP Fel

40 60 40 50 60 45 45 45 55

Movement: 6/12/18/36 Wounds: 21

Skills: Acrobatics (Ag), Awareness +20 (Per), Carouse (T), Charm (Fel), Climb (S), Con-cealment (Ag), Deceive +10 (Fel), Dodge +20, Intimidate (S), Lore: Common (Impe-rium) (Int), Lore: Common (Underworld) +10 (Int), Search (Per), Security(Int), Shadow-ing (Ag), Silent Moves (Ag), Speak Language (Low Gothic, High Gothic), Tech Use (Int).Talents: Ambidextrous, Crack Shot, Deadeye Shot, Fearless, Gunslinger, Lightning Re-flexes, Melee Weapon Training (Power, Primitive), Mighty Shot, Peer (Underworld), Pis-tol Weapon Training (Bolt, SP), Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Rapid Reaction, Two-Weapon Fighting (Ballistic, Melee), Touched by the Fates (2).Traits: Knave of Pistols.Armor: Flak (All 4).Weapons: Hand Cannons (35m; S/-/-; 1d10+6; Pen 2; Clip 5, Rld Full) Hellgun (50m; S/3/-; 1d10+6 E; Pen 7; Clip 30; Rld Full).Gear: Recoil Gloves, Hidden Pistol Holsters, dirty smuggler's uniform, hidden Inquisito-rial Badge of Office, 2 Reloads for each weapon he possesses, 2 Frag grenades.Notes: Because of Knave of Pistols Ivan can not learn any Basic Weapon Training, and as such is not proficient with the use of his Hellgun, so it is Unreliable and he suffers a -20 on all rolls with it.

The Gestalt (Master)

The Gestalt ProfileThe Gestalt ProfileThe Gestalt ProfileThe Gestalt ProfileThe Gestalt ProfileThe Gestalt ProfileThe Gestalt ProfileThe Gestalt ProfileThe Gestalt Profile

WS BS S T Ag Int

Per

WP Fel

-- -- -- 50 10 65 10 55 35

Movement: 1/2/3/6 Wounds: Indestructible

Skills: Invocations +10, Lore: (All) (Int), Psyniscience, +20 (Per),Talent: Psy Rating 10.Traits: Gestalt Madness, Incorporeal*, Unnatural Toughness (x3), Unnatural Willpower (x2)Special Rules: Gestalt MadnessThe Ghanathaar Gestalt is the conglomeration of the souls of the last several thousand Ghanathaar to die. It has no unified mind and is reeling due to its aggregate nature. It may only take one Free Action and one Half Action per turn. The Gestalt can only use any Psychic Powers at Fettered level, but with a success-ful Challenging (+0) Willpower Test once per turn as a Free Action it can know a psy-chic power that duplicates the effects of any one Psychic Power, and retains the knowl-edge of that power for Rounds equal to its Degrees of Success on the Test. If it fails the

test and has no Rounds remaining from previously remembered Powers the the only ac-tion it can take is adopting Defensive Stance.Once the Gestalt take 100 or more points of Damage it loses the Gestalt Madness Trait and is able to focus all of its minds on the source of its pain.

* because of the nature of the Gestalt and the specific arcane rituals performed on each of the Relic Shields all of the bearers' of the Shields attacks against the Gestalt count as Holy for overcoming its Incorporeal Trait.

Chulthid (Elite)

Chulthid ProfileChulthid ProfileChulthid ProfileChulthid ProfileChulthid ProfileChulthid ProfileChulthid ProfileChulthid ProfileChulthid Profile

WS BS S T Ag Int

Per

WP Fel

65 -- 65 40 50 15 40 55 --

Movement: 7/14/21/41 Wounds: 50

Skills: Awareness +10 (Per), Dodge +10 (Ag), Survival +20 (Int), Swim (S), Tracking +10 (Int).Talents: Combat Master, Counter Attack,Crushing Blow, Crippling Strike, Leap Up, Lightning Attack, Swift Attack, Wall of Steel.Traits: Dark Sight, Fear 2 (Frightening), Natural Armor (Rubbery Flesh), Size (Enor-mous), Unnatural Strength (x2), Unnatural Toughness (x2), Improved Natural Weapons (Taloned Forelimbs)Armour: Rubbery Hide (all 7).Weapons: Taloned Forelimbs (2d10+12 R; Pen 3;), Tentacled Maw (5m; 1d5+12 I; Pen 0; Primitive, Grapple*)Note: If the Chulthid strikes any creature smaller than the itself with its Tentacled Maw attack it may, as a Free Action, initiate a Grapple with the victim. If the Chulthid wins the grapple it may draw the victim one meter closer per Degree of Success.

Appendix : Equipment

Relic ShieldsEffects: The Relic Shields count as a Second Chapter trapping, of the Gm's Choice, re-minding the Battle Brothers where they are from and the glories their own storied Chap-

ters have earned. The Shields also serve as a constant reminder of what may be at stake on the mission, giving them certain advantages during the story.

Xenos HovercraftType: Skimmer Speed: 30m

Structural Integrity (Wounds): 20 Size: Hulking Armour: 18Crew: Driver, Gunner, 4 Passengers

Weapon: Gunner-operated heavy stubber (150m; -/-/10; 2d10+4 I; Pen 3; Clip 200; Rld 2Full)Note: As an open topped vehicle any member of the crew may be attacked directly with the Called Shot Action at no additional penalty.

Heavy Bolter Emplacement(Facing: Front, Left, and Right; 200m; -/-/10; 3d10+10 x; Pen 6, Clip 500, Rld 5Full; Tearing, Twin-Linked)Crew: Recidivists, 2 per Emplacement, one gunner and one loader.

Notes: The Emplacements are 5 meters off the ground giving them higher ground and a good view of the no man's land outside of the fences. The Emplacements are also almost completely covered, meaning the crew receive 8 AP of cover to all locations unless the Called Shot action is used to shoot the crewman specifically.

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